---
title: "URL changes in new navigation"
slug: "url-changes-in-new-navigation"
updated: 2026-04-30T22:38:10Z
published: 2026-04-30T22:38:10Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# URL changes in new navigation

In addition to visual changes, we've also made a change to our URL path.

> [!WARNING]
> Important
> 
> Legacy URLs remain fully supported. Existing, native workflows will not be interrupted. Some code pages may not work immediately. See the [Code pages section](/v1/docs/url-changes-in-new-navigation#code-pages) in this article.

## Why are we changing the URL path?

Changes to the URL path provide a smoother, more intuitive experience. Here are some of the benefits of the new URL path:

- **Efficiency and shorter load times**—The new URL path will help us continue to improve performance and page load times
- **Standardization with current best practices**—The new URL path aligns with patterns commonly seen on modern websites. This helps us meet expectations customers have for modern platforms.
- **Content hierarchy for easy learning**—The new URL path includes content hierarchy, so it's easier for users learning Quickbase to understand how to manipulate and use the URL path.

## URL path changes

### Legacy path

| **Parameter** | **Example** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| realm + hostname | example.quickbase.com | Hostname is **.quickbase.com** |
| app or table id (or table alias) | db/bs2bs23t7 | URL contains either the app id or the table id, but not both. You can also use a table alias in place of a table id. |
| action | ?a=q& | Action is prepended with **a=** In this example, **?a=q&** takes you to a report |
| additional search parameters | qid=1 | In this example, this parameter specifies which report to view |

### Updated path

| **Parameter** | **Example** | **What changed** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| realm + hostname | example.quickbase.com | Unchanged |
| app **and** table id (or table alias) | /nav/app/bqznq565g/table/bs2bs23t7/ | - Begins with **/nav** - Lists both app and table id (you may also use a table alias instead of a table id. [Learn more about table aliases](/v1/docs/table-aliases)) - Calls out **app/** and **table/** before each respective id |
| action | action/q? | - **a** became **action** - **=** is now **/** - Action itself is unchanged. For example **q** still refers to reports. |
| additional search parameters | qid=1 | Unchanged |

## Code pages

When Open Beta for new navigation starts on May 8, two types of issues may impact code pages:

1. Resolved: JavaScript features that do not work across domains
2. Gathering information from the URL path

Quickbase addressed the first issue type July 21, 2024 when we [released an update](/v1/docs/quickbase-july-2024-release-notes#open-beta).

The second type of issue may require you to make changes to your code pages before they will work with new navigation. Making the recommended changes will also help your code pages be more resilient to any future changes.

### Resolved: JavaScript features that did not work across domains

When Open Beta began on May 8, new navigation elements were part of the URL path `realm.ui.quickbase.com`. However, code pages remained on `realm.quickbase.com`. To protect your information, browsers did not allow certain JavaScript features to interact across these two locations.

The most common JavaScript features used in code pages that did not work across domains were:

- `document.referrer`
- `window.parent`

#### How did we resolve the issue?

On July 21, 2024, we released an update to new navigation. The update removed the *.ui* from the domain and resolved issues caused by the two separate domains.

#### Recommended changes

While these changes are no longer necessary, making them helps ensure your app follows best practices.

Within Quickbase code pages, a common use case for `document.referrer` is going back to the previous page after taking some action on the code page.

Instead of using `document.referrer`, use `window.history.back()`.

If you're using `document.referrer` to get information about the prior page, look at the recommendation in the next section of this page. This is an opportunity to update another JavaScript pattern that will be more resilient during future Quickbase changes and browser security feature changes.

### Gather information from the URL path

Some Quickbase code pages may rely on the URL path and query parameters to gather information from the app.

#### How will the issues get resolved?

URL path issues will not be resolved unless you update two places:

- Query parameters in the link that opens the code page
- The code page that's opened, so it can consume those query parameters.

#### Recommended changes

When a code page relies on information provided through query parameters or across code pages, use custom query parameters or pass information via eventing with `window.postMessage` instead of relying on URL paths or query parameters used by Quickbase.

For example, a code page may have code that looks at the current URL path or query parameters, such as `?a=dbpage`. The purpose of the code is to identify the current app ID or action. With URL updates, the path and some query parameters have changed. That code may no longer work.

To resolve the issue, update the link that opens the code page to provide the app ID in your own custom query parameters.

Then, update the code page to consume those query parameters.

**Example:**

This is a Formula URL link to a code page that uses the path to get the app ID:

`https://myrealm.quickbase.com/db/abc123?a=showpage&myTargetApp=abc123`

Instead of relying on the `abc123` app ID in the path, provide a personal query param:

`myTargetApp=abc123`

This will always be available to the code page, even if there are additional changes to the URL path.